I am wondering what techniques you use to apply dubbing to the thread and then to the fly body? Are there some methods that work better for you? Anxious to learn what works well for you.
Northwoods ( as i write this white stuff is falling from the sky???)
If you get a chance, read the inagural copy of Hatches magazine, it has a thorough dissertation of dubbing by Al Beatty…
If you plan on doing alot of dubbing, you may want to check out this handy tool
picked up one a while back off of Ebay and it comes in real handy and real easy to use. cranks out your dubbing quiet nicely 
He has the kit and an fully assembled model. The assembly is really simple though.
Mike
Polly Rosborough used to dub short fibers without even building it on his thread… Made his own yarn right at the fly body. I have not used wax since seeing him do that many years ago.
Most folks try to put too much dubbing on at once. Little tiny dabs, drawn out well will always work better…
art
Northwoods,
I am far from being an expert fly tyer, but I do enjoy tying. I use a variety of methods to apply dubbing, the manner depends both on the fly I am tying an on what I feel like doing at the time.
[ul]
[li]Single Thread Dubbing: I rub on a little dubbing wax and gently apply a thin layer of dubbing, twisting it as I apply it. If I want a shaped body I either apply a little more dubbing as I work my way down the thread or I keep it even and just double wrap where I want a thicker body. [/li][li]Double Thread Dubbing: I form a dubbing loop by catching the thread with my left fingers and going back up to the hook with the thread, over wrapping the loop onto the hook to secure it. I will apply dubbing wax sometimes, depending on the material, but most of the time I do not use it in this application. I attach my dubbing loop twister (I prefer the double wire hook type) and insert my dubbing between the threads. The key thing here is to use very little dubbing, very little. Then I pull on my twister to tighten the threads and give it a few twists. That is when I stop, and take two turns of the dubbing loop onto the hook, that decreases the chance of the loop breaking on you. Then I twist the loop really good, playing with the dubbing to get the shape I want. This is a great way to apply Peacock herl but first you want to lock the herl onto the hook with a couple wraps of thread, right where the dubbing loop was formed.[/li][li]Triple Thread Dubbing: Wasatch came out with the Mitch’s Bobbin/Whirler. This created a three thread dubbing loop, very strong and adjustable. I am starting to really like this tool, especially on bigger flies that will get chewed on a lot by bigger fish.[/li][li]Wire Double Dubbing Loop: There are times when I want a really strong dubbing loop that the fish can not destroy. I tie on a thin strand of silver colored, copper or brass wire. I lay the tip of the wire along the shank of the hook and tie it down with a few wraps of thread, leaving an end sticking out towards the eye of the hook. I pull out the amount of wire I want, better to use too much than not enough as you can always use what is left on a smaller fly. I then take the wire back up to the hook, cut it with wire cutters, and lay the end along the shank like the other end. After a couple of wraps I then take the two ends and bend them back over the tied in wire, then wrap that down a few times. Now the wire will not pull loose on you. I do use dubbing wax with wire and then I apply the smallest and thinnest amount I can. As the dubbing goes down it looks like it wouldn’t cover anything, but you will be surprised. Then I attach my dubbing twister and give it a few gentle turns, then I wrap the dubbing loop around the hook twice and I may even then wrap that a couple of times with my thread. Then I twist the loop and once it obtains the shape I want I wrap that onto the hook. [/ul] [/li]Larry 
—sagefisher—
Larry – sagefisher, thanks so much for the different dubbing method’s I didn’t know there were so many. will go and practice on some flies.
Jeanne